Nightmares
by TacomaSquall
Summary: FF8 ongoing multi-part story. Less than a year has passed since the failure of Time Compression. Squall's dreams indicate the danger has not gone away. Meanwhile - a dark vow is made... Please R/R!
1. Part 1: REM Stage

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

This story owes full credit to Astarte's magnificent tale, _The Angel of Chaos_.The settings and characters created in that story are expanded upon in this tale, and have been used with her express permission.For those interested in looking at the story that spawned this tale, please look for it on [www.fanfiction.net][1] or at [www.homestead.astartefics.com][2].

There are five stages that complete what we call a cycle of sleep.During a normal eight-hour rest period, a person will cycle through these five stages repeatedly.The first four stages are lumped together into the category of NREM sleep.These are stages when the body is at rest, and is recharging.The third and fourth stages of NREM sleep are collectively known also as Delta, or deep, sleep.

The fifth stage of sleep is radically different from the other four stages.It is marked by a spike in brain activity, and a twitching and/or fluttering of the eyelids.It is from this activity that the fifth stage gets its name – REM (for Rapid Eye Movements) Stage.It is during the REM Stage that we dream.

Every time we enter REM Stage (usually two or more times a sleep period), we dream.Every time…

**Part One:REM Stage**

_Griever lay dead before him, victim of the Lionheart.Around him lay the bodies of his friends, slain by the fierce power of the greatest of Guardian Forces.As he watched, their bodies vanished into the time stream.Irvine, Zell, Selphie, Raijin, Fuujin, Seifer - all dead at the hands of this sorceress that sought to destroy all of time.Once again, Squall thanked Hyne that he had chosen to leave Rinoa in his father's custody in Esthar._

_ _

_Ultimecia rose up from the ruins, the wounds he and his friends had dealt to her miraculously healed."Curse you, SeeD.I will make you regret your temerity in attacking me here, in my stronghold.Soon, you will join your friends, forever time-lost.And I will find your precious Rinoa and seize her, using her power to take control of your dear sister."_

_ _

_Squall Leonhart screamed in rage as he brought the Lionheart downwards with all of his might, cleaving into the Sorceress Ultimecia.As his blow struck home, her body shimmered, and he saw the form of the woman he loved."NO!"_

Squall surged forward, sheet and blankets thrown off of his body.For a moment, he sat upright in the bed, his eyes unseeing in the early Balamb morning darkness.His broken voice whispered, "Rinoa, I killed you..."

Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness of his quarters.Reality began to impinge upon Squall's senses.He shook himself, droplets of unheeded sweat flying from his body."It was only a dream.Another nightmare..."

Squall quickly pulled on his clothes and set out for another early-morning session in the Training Center.All he was able to find within were Grats, the T-Rexaurs having been warned off by previous nocturnal excursions by the scar-faced SeeD over the past three months.In such a manner, Squall fought against the urge to return to sleep, where the nightmare awaited him.

Eventually, the fatigue won out over Squall's adrenaline rush from the danger of the Training Center.Near the Draw Point contained inside, Squall's knees buckled.His gunblade sliipped from nerveless fingers, and he was asleep before his head hit the turf.

******

That morning, Zell was thrilled.For the first time in a dog's age, he had got up early enough to be the first in line for the Garden Cafeteria's hot dogs.Already, he could taste the succulent meat on his taste buds.He could feel the hot dog's skin give way to pressure from his teeth, releasing the tender meat contained within...

"Hey, Chicken-wuss!Are you going to get your food, or just stand there?"Seifer's taunt had the desired effect upon the blond-haired martial artist, awakening him from his fantasy of gastronomic bliss.

Zell smiled and walked forward.He looked back at the slender blond man."I'm moving, scarface."It felt so strange to have the man who had betrayed the Gardens during the Second Sorceress War as a member of Garden faculty.When Squall recommended the former Sorceress' Knight for the post of weapons instructor, however, there was far less protest than any of Squall's companions had expected.

Zell picked up his tray and walked to the window, where the Garden's Cafeteria staff waited, with Zell's prize.He pulled up short, when he heard a commotion behind him.He turned.

It was Selphie.The Garden's self-styled mistress of festivals was in anything but a festive mood.Her yellow mini-skirt was spotted with blood, and it coated her hands.She wore a terrified expression on her face.

"Squall was mauled by a Granaldo in the Training Center!"Her dismay raised the already-soprano voice of the perky SeeD another octave."Dr. Kadowaki is not sure she will be able to save him!"

Zell, for the first time in his life, forgot hot dogs as he dashed from the Cafeteria.As he sprinted to the Infirmary at a speed that would have made Rowan King proud, he checked his Junctions.He had a full load of Full-Life spells.He hoped they might be of some use to Dr. Kadowaki, who focused on using technological means to heal her patients.

Looking behind him, he saw that Seifer and Selphie were pacing him.He was amazed to see that the cocky SeeD looked just as concerned as he felt._Perhaps even someone who is as much of a pain as Seifer can change._

He made the turn to enter the Infirmary.He skidded to a halt when he saw the trail of blood on the floor, from where Squall's blood had fell as he was carried from the Training Center.His heart almost stopped, as he realized that if this line of dying blood was any indication, his friend was already knocking on Death's door.Subconsciously, he ordered the Brothers and Diablos, both currently Junctioned to him in preparation for a mission to Esthar, to Junction to Squall, in an effort to bolster the SeeD's failing health.

The two Guardians complied, lending additional vitality to the fallen SeeD.Zell, Selphie and Seifer entered the observation room, where they could see Dr. Kadowaki operating on Squall.

******

Squall worked his way from the twilight of unconsciousness.**_Are you well, Lionheart?_**

Squall was amazed to hear the voice of the Ice Guardian, Shiva.In his recollection, never had a Guardian Force spoken with the one it was Junctioned to.He struggled to speak, and found that he could not move his jaws.

**_Do not speak.We can hear your thoughts._**

_What happened to me?The last thing I remember was stopping by the Draw Point_, Squall thought.He struggled to open his eyes, and realized that his body was not currently under his control.

**_You fell asleep.While you slept, a Granaldo attacked you.Its tail paralyzed you, and then it began to feed on your flesh.If it had not been for the Mistress of Doom, you would have died._**

_Who is the Mistress of Doom?_

**_I believe that you would call her Selphie._**

_My dreams..._

**_It is our belief that the one you are bonded to is in grave danger, Lionheart.As her Knight, you have felt the danger that threatens her as it reaches across time to draw her into its grasp._**

_But Ultimecia is dead!_Squall was incredulous.He saw her time-usurping form dissolve during Time Compression a year ago.

**_You must remember, Ultimecia made other attempts to compress time.She failed in those others, and settled upon using your adopted sister as the conduit for her power.It was only when she seized Ellone Loire that she succeeded in uniting all time periods._**

_You mean?_

**_This may very well be one of her attempts at Time Compression from before she tried to use Ellone._**

_Then it is doomed to fail, without us doing anything!_

**_We do not know why she failed in her previous attempts.We do know that she had reason to hate SeeDs from before she compressed time.If you and your friends do not oppose her, it may be that she will be able to succeed, and all of the victories you have won will be rendered moot._**

With that last chilling message, Squall felt Shiva's presence leave him.His eyes flickered open.

******

Seifer paced back and forth in the lobby of the Garden Infirmary.Never had it been one of his favorite places in Balamb Garden._Squall had better be alright…_

Seifer could feel both Chicken-wuss and Little Miss Cheerleader follow him with their eyes.Each time he turned on his heel, he could catch them looking away, afraid to be caught staring at the Sorceress' Knight.Afraid that he might be offended by their suspicions about his worthiness.

That was funny.Seifer agreed wholeheartedly with them.He could better understand their suspicion than he could Rinoa's efforts to forgive Seifer for the things he had done.Seifer knew that Squall's insistence, that the tall gunblade master be permitted to teach SeeDs, originated in Rinoa's insistent demands to give Seifer a chance to redeem himself.Seifer scowled._And when she badgered me into taking this opportunity, I discovered that I, too, was still unable to say no to her._

He looked up as the door to the operating theater opened.Doctor Kadowaki stood in the opening.She looked at the two SeeDs and the Sorceress' Knight."He's asking for the three of you."

Seifer followed the other two into the operating theater.The room was in the process of being scrubbed by a young nurse from Balamb town, named Lidia.She looked up as they entered, and rushed out of the room, bearing a bundle of used implements to be washed and sterilized before reuse.The door behind her swung closed with a thud that reminded Seifer of the sound made when a dud was fired by gunblade.

Sitting up on the gurney, Squall looked a fright.His chest was crisscrossed with slashes from the spikes of the Granaldo.A bandage covered his side, which was already starting to show discoloration from the bleeding it was containing.The flesh around the dressing was a sickly purple hue.Worst of all, his gunblade arm was wreathed in bloodstained fabric, covering the wounds inflicted by the monster's jaws.

Weakly, he looked at the trio in front of him.Seifer was shocked to see the state his former rival was in._Always, I could count on him to be my equal.Right now, he isn't the equal of those Galbadian bumblers, Wedge and Biggs!_

Softly, Squall spoke."I need the three of you to go to Deling City.Rinoa is in danger."

Zell interjected, "What about you?Aren't you going to be there?"

"As soon as I can.But I need the three of you to keep Rinoa safe until I get there."

Seifer grimaced."Why are you sending us haring off after Rinoa?Chicken-wuss here has an assignment to Esthar, pursuing gunrunners."He gestured at Zell, who bristled at his comment."And Selphie is supposed to go back to Trabia tomorrow, to work with the reconstruction team.What urgent threat requires that they be sent, much less alongside someone they don't trust?"

Squall looked away."I can't tell you," he whispered.

Seifer stood right in front of his former nemesis."You owe me, Leonhart!What is this about?"

Squall sighed."From what I gather, Ultimecia is behind the threat to Rinoa."

Seifer felt his skin crawl with revulsion at the Sorceress' name.He also felt a cold spike of fear enter his heart._If it is Ultimecia, how will I be able to resist her?_

**To be continued…**

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/
   [2]: http://www.homestead.astartefics.com/



	2. Part 2: Interruptus

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part Two:Interruptus**

Ultimecia detached the leads from the overheated Ellone Device from her forehead.She made a mental note to order the Ilmit who had fashioned the leads to make at least two replacement sets.Already, this set of leads had been damaged by her body's movement, as she reacted to what was happening within the being she had projected her consciousness into.She felt a slow trickle from her forehead and raised a single pale finger.Blood.She was sweating blood.

The woman who was once known as Thuka swore softly.Alsy slaves, ordered to tend her during her experiment, cowered at the sound of her vituperation.At least that much was right.

During the course of the last year, Ultimecia had set about the course of her war against the SeeDs.They had killed her consort on the eve of her ascension to her title as Queen of Heaven.In retaliation, Ultimecia had gone on a rampage, striking at every stronghold of the followers of the Way of the Lady.

During the destruction of the SeeD's stronghold in Balab, Ultimecia had discovered something that made her blood run cold.According to the prophecies that heralded her own ascension, the SeeDs believed that her defeat was inevitable.She would meet her end at the hands of a group of SeeDs from the inception of the Way.

In her war against the SeeDs, she had found allies that bolstered her power beyond that of her enemies.The Sphinxaur, master of monster summoning.The Tri-Point, flying child of the storm's fury.The Krysta, torn from the roots of the earth.The Trauma, a semi-sentient mecha capable of spawning miniaturized duplicates of itself.The ultra-dense Red Giant.The subterranean terror known only as Gargantua.The father of Behemoths, Catoblepas.The ancient dragoness known only as Tiamat.Finally, the mysterious entity of destruction known as Omega.

Her greatest allies did not come from the ranks of the beings which were summoned by her Lunar Cry, however.Ultimecia found her greatest allies through her conquests.Seven Guardians had joined her cause since she had liberated them from the SeeDs.The malificent Hades, lord of Doom.The tetra-elemental beast known as Kjata.The rock-lord Golem.The master of dissolution called Chupon.The crazed Atomos, avatar of the force that holds the planets together.The chaos-born Maduin.And the King of the Guardians, Griever.

With her newfound allies, her march had led to the fall of all save the rebellious provinces of Galbad.Sthar had given her little challenge, and was the first province she had cleared of the SeeD infestation.Following soon afterwards, Trab was cleansed.Her most recent victories were in Balab and Dolt.Ultimecia was confident that the SeeDs of this time would be soon defeated.

She looked at the device she held in her hands.The Ellone Device was fashioned in antiquity by the legendary inventor, Dr. Odine.Its purpose was to allow the user to transfer his or her consciousness across the gulf of time.She had tested the device to see if it had a useful application in her current war.She was not displeased with her findings.

She had tested the device by going back in time to when she was a young woman.She went back to the very day that she had wandered off, looking at flowers.She had discovered herself to be in the mind of her mother.Amazed, Ultimecia watched her younger self wander off from the nomadic camp of the Alsy she had spent her early years with.Her mother, Pura, grew worried when her daughter started in an opposite direction from the nomads.Pura turned to retrieve her daughter, before the nomads left her behind.

Ultimecia was faced with a crisis.From her memories, she knew that she had wandered away from her family for some time, before the slavers had captured her.If her mother went to get her now, none of the events she had lived through since would have happened.She would never have gained the power she now held.Ultimecia begged her mother not to go after her daughter.

Pura stopped, confused.Ultimecia was shocked to realize that her mother sensed her plea!Somehow, she could communicate with the being whose mind she shared.Experimenting quickly, she soon discovered that not only could she communicate with her host, she could, with an expenditure of willpower, take her host over.She forced her mother to stay with the nomads, satisfied that she was ensuring her future.

The expenditure of willpower necessary to control Pura's actions caused feedback within the Ellone Device.This feedback was enough to force the device to work harder than it was designed to do, overheating the device.Ultimecia found herself yanked forward from the past.

She saw a way that she could use this device to pre-emptively strike against the SeeDs that were supposed to destroy her in the past.All Ultimecia needed to do was find a way to take over a sorceress in their time period.That should be possible if she could just figure out a method of preventing the overheating of the Ellone Device…

Once she eliminated the Fated Children, her victory over the SeeDs would be sealed.

Ultimecia laughed, her mezzo-soprano voice raising the hairs on the backs of her Alsy servants' necks.In her desire for revenge, she had gone mad.They only prayed they would complete their tasks here before her madness focused on them.

**To be continued…**


	3. Part 3: NREM Stage

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part 3:NREM Stage**

Seifer stood on the exposed deck of the SeeD attack landing craft _Strife_.He stood facing ahead into the roaring wind of the small assault ship's passage.The small ship was making 80 knots as it carved its way across the ocean towards Dollet Dukedom.A sense of déjà vu washed over the blond weapons instructor, remembering the last time he had been on board the _Strife_, more than a year ago, making a run to the same destination.

The _Strife_ was a good ship, being the first commissioned of the special SeeD assault craft.Along with her sister ships, the _Wallace_, _Lockhart_, _Valentine_, _Kisaragi_ and _Highwind_, the small assault boat had served SeeD well since their construction by the Dollet Naval Yard ten years before.Top-rated at a speed of 100 knots, and armed with a dual 9 millimeter DelingTech machinegun, the small craft were capable of providing rapid insertion and support for amphibious operations.In the aftermath of the Second Sorceress War's depletion of materiel, and with the Ragnarok currently down for maintenance, the six craft were currently Garden's swiftest transports.

Normally, on a mission such as this, with a client in danger, SeeDs in civilian attire would have been dispatched via the high-speed train that ran between Balamb and Timber.Just the week before, however, the underwater tunnel connecting the two cities flooded.The clean-up crews were still working to restore rail service.The track itself had been corroded by immersion in the salt water of the ocean, requiring that a hundred-mile-long stretch of track be uprooted and replaced.Needless to say, trains were out of the question.

Seifer smiled.Over the past year, he had discovered a love of the sea that helped fill the aching void within.In the past year, Seifer had found that the permanence of the sea and the perpetual cycle of the waves soothed him.They reminded him that life went on, even when disaster occurred.

On the waves, Seifer could escape the demons that haunted him to this day.The battered form of his rival, tortured for information about the purpose of the Gardens.The looks on the faces of both Fuujin and Raijin when they turned against him, in Lunatic Pandora.The moment when he looked into Ultimecia's eyes, as she possessed Adel of Esthar, and saw the annihilation of all time.Most of all, he was haunted by the desolate look on Rinoa's face, as he gave her to Ultimecia/Adel, to be Junctioned into a bizarre triune sorceress.

It was that look of terror that drove him to abandon Ultimecia's cause, breaking him free of the horrid compulsion she had exerted upon him.When he heard that she had been defeated by Squall and his companions, Seifer rejoiced.Finally, he was free.

Or so he had thought.Now, he was rushing to Deling City to protect the woman he once loved from the Sorceress who once promised to fulfill his every fantasy.He prayed that Squall was wrong, because if it was Ultimecia…

Seifer was jarred from his reverie by the realization that the attack ship was moving downwards.He looked ahead and saw the reason why.His blood ran cold.

The _Strife_ was slowing down, as it moved ahead.The small ship was moving into an area where the water had retreated somewhat.Seifer could see the sea bottom in the lowest portion of the depression.Beyond the depression, racing forward at a speed greater than the assault craft could match, was a huge swell.It was easily taller than Balamb Garden stacked upon itself five times over.It was a certainty that the wave would swamp the small ship, unless they could make a miracle.

At that moment, Zell and Selphie rushed on deck.The brash martial artist held in his hand a foil-wrapped bundle that resembled one of Mrs. Stepanicci's hot dogs.As Seifer watched, Zell he juggled the hot parcel from one hand to the other."Damn, that's HOT!"

Selphie flicked the Strange Vision loose, taking an end of the weapon in each hand.She stared at the onrushing wave and screamed, "There's something in there!"

Zell dropped the hot parcel and looked into the wall of water that was drawing nearer with every breath.He brightened."I have an idea!"He sent a silent call to one of the Guardians he had junctioned._Leviathan?_

**_What is it, Fist of the Fated?_**

_Can you help us out here?The _Strife_ is about to get swamped by a massive wave, and something is inside the wave, causing it to take place._

**_It would be a pleasure, child._**

As the Guardian began to materialize, Zell and his companions vanished.As they faded briefly from existence, Zell reflected that the Guardians were very useful, but that they could be damn patronizing…

An aperture opened to another world, and a tendril of water flowed out of it.The tendril slowly stretched forth, as the wave drew ever-nearer.Finally, there was a flash, and Leviathan appeared, its coils surrounding the assault ship.It screamed, and the wall of water that rushed towards the Guardian and the SeeD ship parted, leaving enough space for the Guardian to bring the ship to safety.With a shrill cry, the Guardian vanished.

As the SeeDs reappeared, they were shocked to see a hulking shape rise up from the depths.It sported an elongated body that was more massive than the assault boat.The scaled saurian body had enormous flippers in the places where its prehistoric land-based cousins, the Bracheosaur and Brontaur, had feet.Like those long-extinct creatures, believed purged by the Centra a millennium ago, this beast had an extremely long neck, stretching almost as far as the body's length.Zell remembered a Garden biology class that discussed the myth of such creatures' existence.For some reason, in the flesh, a Plesiosaur did not seem as cool as it had then.

Selphie looked at Zell in shocked dismay.She mouthed, "What in Hyne's name is that thing?"Her words were drowned out by the crashing of the water displaced by the beast's rapid rise to the surface.

Seifer screamed, "I don't care what it is.It's dead!"He concentrated, calling upon the power of the Guardian Ifrit.

While the weapons instructor began concentrating, Zell cast a Triple spell on the brown-haired head of the Garden Festival.In response, Selphie unleashed a spell to protect each member from all attacks.The Protect spell, modified by the Triple metaspell, affected each of the SeeDs in turn, instead of the usual single target mandated by Hyne so many years before.

The Plesiosaur cocked its head to a side for a brief moment, looking at its diminutive adversaries.Somehow recognizing Seifer's link to Ifrit, it snaked its neck forward, taking Seifer in its jaw and clamping down, hard.The saurian monster hoisted Seifer into the air, and chewed.Finally, it spat Seifer back to the deck of the ship, finding something about the blond warrior unappetizing.The instructor was unharmed, but the massive jaws of the beast were powerful enough that the Guardian was dispelled before it could manifest.

Seifer rose slowly to his feet, shaking his head to clear it of the pain caused by having the link to his Guardian broken so suddenly.He barely stepped aside in time to avoid a massive fluke as it swatted at him.He grimaced.This was not going to be easy.

A flipper moved forward for another swipe at the blond Instructor.Before it could reach Seifer, however, it was intercepted by a strike from the Strange Vision, followed by a lightning-fast one-two combination from Zell.The Plesiosaur roared in pain.

Seifer yelled to his companions."Selphie – throw a Triple Float on us.Then we can close with this beast.Zell, cast Slow on it!I'm going to keep it distracted."

The failed SeeD called upon the Firaga spells he had Junctioned, hurling a gout of sorcerous flame at the monster.As he cast the spell, Seifer felt his resistance to flames diminish.The spell impacted against the Plesiosaur, succeeding only in angering the beast.Zell followed up on Seifer's attack with a spell that dilated time around the creature.

Selphie cast three Float spells, giving the companions the ability to effectively walk on water.Freed from the limitation of the ship's deck, the two others charged.As Seifer slashed at the beast's neck with his gunblade, Zell charged around to the Plesiosaur's side, kicking its unguarded flank.Selphie concentrated, taking advantage of the distraction the creature was suffering, and Drew a shimmering being from the Plesiosaur.

**_Hello, Mistress of Doom, I am the Lord of the Sea.I have heard tales of you from my brethren._**Selphie was shocked, as she realized she had made contact with the Guardian, Neptune.

The Plesiosaur whipped its tail around its body in an attempt to swat this being that had the temerity to attack its sides.The tail struck Zell, knocking the martial artist in cartwheels away from the fight.

That was when Selphie smiled, seeing an opening.The brunette called upon the magical forces Junctioned to her physical abilities of recuperation, unleashing a barrage of Meltdown spells upon the Plesiosaur.The hellish energies of the tripled spell broke down the resistance of the creature.When Hyperion came around for another slash, it met considerably less resistance, cutting deep into the saurian's flesh.

Zell charged back into the fray, a sunburst of energy being released as he called upon the techniques he had turned into an art.He rained Punch Rushes and Mach Kicks upon the creature with wild abandon.The monster stood no chance under the onslaught of Zell's Limit, and it collapsed into the water.

Seifer looked at his companions.Selphie was soaked from head to toe in salt spray from the splashes created by the monster.Zell looked like nothing less than a grinning bruise.And Seifer was sure that he looked no better than they.

"Let's get back onto the _Strife_."Seifer looked at Selphie."Did I see correctly?You Drew a Guardian from this creature?"

Selphie nodded."He says his name is Neptune."

"I hope he can tell us why a living fossil attacked us."Seifer's voice was grim."Let's get belowdecks and dried off before we talk.After all, it would be very bad for the Float spell –"

At that moment, the Float enchantment wore off.Both Seifer and Zell were dumped, unceremoniously, into the waves.

**To be continued…**


	4. Part 4: NREM Stage

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part 4:NREM Stage**

Zell was totally unprepared for the impact with the cold water.The water must have been just a degree or two above freezing.It felt like the Giant Cactaur had hurled every needle into his skin, all at once.Zell gasped in reaction, and felt the water rush into his mouth and down his throat.Zell started flailing in panic, forgetting everything he had learned about swimming.

A slender form arrowed its way into the water nearby.With confident strokes, Selphie swam to her companion's side.She grabbed the back of Zell's jacket and oriented herself, kicking for the surface.In a few moments, her head broke the surface of the water, followed by the martial artist's.

Spluttering and coughing, Zell could barely breathe past the volume of fluid in his lungs.He retched, and some water was forced upwards into his mouth.Most of the fluid was not able to escape, and Zell's swallowing reflex drove the water back into his body, this time, into his digestive system.

Selphie moved the SeeD warrior so he was lying on his back and began swimming slowly to the Strife.As she drew closer, she saw Seifer pull himself on deck, the Hyperion clutched in one wet hand.The tall warrior had lost his trench-coat during the dunking.

Selphie made it to the side of the assault craft.As she reached for the ship's hull, a ring landed in the water beside her.Attached to the floatation device was a long rope that led upwards, to the deck of the craft.She pulled Zell to it, and made his unconscious form fast to it.She tugged three times on the rope and shouted aloft, "Hoist Zell up!"

The Trabian girl watched as the young SeeD was hoisted into the air.Slowly, Zell's body rose, bumping occasionally against the _Strife_'s hull.When the SeeD had reached the level of the ship's deck, Seifer reached over the edge and pulled him up on board.

Selphie smiled.This reminded her of all the moonlight swims she used to take with Heidi and Mitchell in Trabia.In fact, the three of them had been founding members of the Trabia Polar Bear Club – a group of Garden students and faculty that loved to swim in the ice-cold waters surrounding their Garden.

The ring plummeted back down, smacking the chill water with enough force to drench Selphie in spray.The splash was enough to jar the brown-haired lass from her reverie.She grabbed onto the ring and looked above.One of the crewmen of the _Strife_ looked back at her, his eyes questioning.She waved at him and gave him a thumbs-up.The crewman smiled and waved back, and then told the others to begin lifting.

******

Zell was wrapped in a wool blanket from the _Strife_'s stores.He was fighting the urge to shiver uncontrollably from the dunking he had sustained just a few minutes before.His teeth were chattering violently, and he wished for a steaming bowl of Mrs. Stepanicci's chicken soup.

He looked over at Seifer, who wore his blanket as if it were royalty's cloak.The tall instructor met Zell's gaze and grinned at the younger SeeD.Zell was shocked.As far as he could recall, it was the first time, ever, that Seifer had treated him as something of an equal."Nice job, Zell.You finished that critter off with your Limit Break."

Zell burrowed deeper into his blanket, trying vainly to find warmth from within its folds.He shivered and looked at Seifer."However, I wasn't expecting the Float spell to expire so quickly."He made a rueful grin.

"Better after the fight than during the middle of it," Seifer asserted.

The door to the cabin the two SeeDs were berthing in opened.With a towel wrapped in a turban in her hair, and wearing an amber-colored sweater-dress, Selphie walked in.She smiled at Zell and Seifer as she sat down in the only chair in the cabin."What was that thing?"

Zell shuddered again."It was a Plesiosaur.There have been no sightings of a living aquatic saurian like it for hundreds of years.The Estharian Museum of Antiquities lists the creature as extinct for over a millennia, dying out at the same time as the Centra disaster."

"So they died out due to a Lunar Cry," Selphie commented.She shook her head and looked at Zell.A slow smile spread across her face."How do you know so much about saurians, Zell?"

Zell blushed."When I was a kid –"

"You're still a kid, Chicken-wuss," Seifer interrupted.

Zell shot a venomous look at the blond instructor, who deigned not to notice.Zell continued, "When I was a kid, I used to love dinosaurs.I used to pester Mom abut going to the woods north of Balamb to get a T-Rexaur egg."He sighed regretfully."Fortunately, I never found one."

Seifer cracked his knuckles.Into the silence that followed, he spoke."A more important question is how and why it got here."

Selphie nodded."That's what you wanted to ask Neptune, isn't it?"

Seifer shrugged."That's mainly it."

"I have an idea on how I might be able to allow us all to speak with him.Let me see if I can make it work."Selphie focused her concentration inwards.

As the battle earlier had ended, Selphie made the snap decision to Junction Neptune to herself.Now, she sent a query down the mental link she shared with the Guardian.

**_Yes, Mistress of Doom?_**

Selphie did a visible double-take._Who are you calling the Mistress of Doom?_

**_You.Selphie Tilmitt, you are the Mistress of Doom.Do you not have access to that puissant ability that you have dubbed 'The End'?_**

_You mean you have names for all of us?_

Selphie received the impression of an elderly king nodding with grave majesty.**_Each of the Fated Children is known to us by the names that Hyne gave to you in her last prophecy.The Lionheart, the Fist of the Fated, the Knight of the Cross, the Mistress of Doom, the Weeping Queen, the Marksman, and the Wishing Angel.We have known of you and waited for your coming for ages._**

_Why?We're just a bunch of kids…_

**_Perhaps.But it was known to Hyne that a day would come when the Queen of Heaven would seek dominion over all of time.In that day, the Fated Children would rise to oppose her.In opposing her, they would mend the breach that separated the Guardians from each other._**

_This is waaaaay too much for me._Selphie paused infinitesimally._I wanted to ask you if there was a way that you could speak to all of us.My companions have questions for you that they cannot ask unless they are Junctioned to you.Since we know that you can manifest in battle, it was our hope that we could get you to manifest for a time._

**_I can do that, but at the risk of your well-being, child._**

_What do you mean?_

**_When one of us manifests, we replace the ones who call us, sending them temporarily to our realm.To protect them, our summoners are placed in stasis.It is not known what would happen to a human who is placed in stasis for more than a few moments._**Selphie could hear a cautionary note in Neptune's voice.**_It is possible that you could be injured, or worse.If the stasis wears off, your sanity may very well be damaged, for the Guardian's realm is suited for our kind, not yours._**

Selphie nodded.She looked at her companions and said, "Neptune will be here soon to answer all of your questions, Seifer.I will not be present, so you will want to record the answers so I can look at them."

Zell's eyes went wide."You're gonna summon Neptune right now?"

Selphie looked at her friend, meeting his gaze head-on."Yeah, I am."

Selphie closed her eyes in concentration.As she began the summoning, she felt a shiver of trepidation move quickly down her spine.She shivered, and faded from her companions' view.

**To be continued…**


	5. Part 5: Interlude

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part 5:Interlude**

Ultimecia sat in her chambers in the Tower of Heaven.Her mind was focused on the opportunity she now had, the ability to strike into the past and erase the SeeDs from existence.If the SeeDs did not exist, then they would not be able to end her beloved's life on the eve of her ascension to power.Together, she and Nerid would then enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Ultimecia was unheeding of the cold wind that blew through the open windows of her suite.It was bitingly chill, and bore the promise of a winter more cruel than any in recorded history.The Queen of Heaven's war of vengeance had even affected the climatological patterns of the world, threatening to plunge the world into an Ice Age.

Ultimecia smiled.She could taste the sweetness of her eventual victory.Soon the SeeDs of this time would be destroyed.In fact, soon, they would not even be a memory.Once she had mastered the use of the Ellone Device, she would be able to use its power to ensure that no SeeDs could ever harm her or her beloved again.

There was a soft knock from the entrance to the suite.Ultimecia called out in her melodious voice, "Enter."

A Lwar stood in the doorway, his dark hair hanging down to partially shield his eyes.In his hands, he held a large tome."Majesty, this was found in the ruins of Balab Gard-keep."

The Lwar's name was Lagun, a name passed along the family line for centuries.He had served Arista before Thuka's ascension, and he was one of few people that Ultimecia trusted."Bring it to me, Lagun."

The aide strode quickly to Ultimecia's side.As he drew closer, Ultimecia examined the tome he carried in his arms.The book was bound in night-black leather, probably from a Hexadragon, and had tracery in platinum filigree over the covering.The filigree seemed to form some pattern, but Ultimecia could not, at first glance, make it out.The title of the tome was spelled in gold and platinum letters that were raised from the cover of the massive book.The Prophecies of Hyne.

Ultimecia felt a shiver run down her spine.If this was not a forgery, this tome contained the last words of Hyne, as she divided her power amongst the Sorceresses and left this world.She commanded, "Give the book to me."

Lagun complied, handing the heavy volume to Ultimecia.The Queen of Heaven gasped as she felt the book's weight.It must weigh almost as much as a child of seven or eight years' age, she mused.She examined the cover of the book, as she prepared to open the tome.Her blood ran chill as she made out the pattern upon the great tome's covering.

The design on the cover of the tome was of a group of six people fighting against a monstrous female shape.The six people were an unarmed young man with a tattooed face, a serious woman with a razor-barbed whip, a man with a rifle leveled at the monstrous form, a laughing girl with a pair of nunchaku, a woman with the glowing wings of a sorceress and a dog by her side, and an intense man in their front, brandishing a gunblade.These six, Ultimecia recognized as the young heroes of SeeD legend.

The monstrous form of their enemy drew Ultimecia's gaze, and it was that form that caused her to scream in rage.The form was a monstrous caricature of herself.

Turning, she snarled to Lagun, "Send to the Ilmit that is crafting those leads for the Ellone Device.Tell him that his life depends on having a set of leads ready in one hour."

As Lagun hurried out of her chambers, Ultimecia turned to a cabinet.Opening it, she rummaged through the items stored within.There lay a shattered lamp that once served as the residence of the Guardian Diablos, slain by Hades in retribution for wrongs committed eons ago.Beside the broken lamp lay the corroded Solomon Ring, once key to the summoning of the monstrous Doomtrain.Doomtrain's rusting hulk lay on the sands of Balab, where it had been crushed by the combined power of Griever and Omega.

Other Guardians had fallen in battle against her forces, and mementoes of their existence were closeted within.A pinion from the life-bringing Phoenix, doomed to never rise from its ashes, scattered to the farthest reaches of the galaxy by Atomos.The broken Excalipoor, shattered during an encounter with the mysterious being that called itself Gilgamesh.Siren's harp, all that remained after Chupon disintegrated the mer-Guardian.And the quills of the Giant Cactaur, plucked by the rock-hard hands of the Gargantua from its crushed corpse.

Ultimecia smiled coldly.This time, she would be junctioned to her Guardians.She would see if they could function in the past.If they could, she would set them free to find and destroy the SeeDs that deviled her…

Ultimecia's laughter rang throughout the Tower of Heaven.Her servants nodded to themselves.The Queen of Heaven had found some way to further her war against the SeeDs.Not for the last time, they thanked Hyne that they were not of that company, for as terrible as it was to serve the Queen, it was far more terrible to be the target of her rage.

**To be continued…**


	6. Part 6: Delta Stage

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part 6:Delta Stage**

Neptune appeared in the cabin.The two companions gazed in surprise at their first glimpse of a Guardian outside of a crisis situation.

Neptune stood eight feet tall, and wore the guise of a powerfully muscled old man.His eyes were the piercing blue-green of the sea, flecked with the white of sea-foam from breakers upon the shore.His skin was deeply tanned and callused from hard labor.Tightly held in one massive fist, the Guardian bore a ten-foot-long trident with blades that seemed to sway with the motion of the waves outside the assault craft.His mantle was deep green, with ripples of darkness that eddied and moved.Zell felt an unbidden sense of nausea well up as he stared at the garment, and with a wrench, he pulled his gaze back to the Guardian's black-bearded face.

**_I greet you, Fated Children._**The Guardian's voice seemed tangible to senses other than merely Zell's hearing. Contained in the Guardian's words, he felt the tang of the salt of crashing waves near Timber, and the smell of the coast's edge.Confused, Zell shook his head to clear the impression he felt that he were standing upon some deserted island, listening to the Guardian speak.

Beside the martial artist, Seifer Almasy was struggling with a sensation that was alien to him – utter awe.Seifer fought the desire to prostrate himself before this potent extradimensional being.In some way, this Guardian was more fully in the world than he had ever seen one appear before.Seifer sneered at himself._If you cannot face this ally, how in Hyne's name do you expect to oppose Ultimecia?_

Seifer nodded at Neptune and coughed softly."Neptune, when Selphie Drew you from that Plesiosaur, you had been Junctioned to it?"

**_That is correct._**

Seifer pressed onwards."How did that happen?"

**_I sensed the return of the Queen of Heaven.When that took place, I knew it would be necessary to warn the Fated Children that their task was not yet complete.I called to my side one of the most potent of those beings that once served me._**

"Wait a minute – that saurian used to serve you?"Zell was incredulous.

**_When I was less than I am now, yes.However, Fist, that was many of your millennia ago.To my shock, I discovered that the one I summoned was one of the last of its kind – called from the depths where they had gone to hide since the catastrophic Lunar Cry that wiped out saurians across the globe._**

Seifer cut in, "Then why did it attack us?"

**_I am not as powerful in the mortal realm as I once was.A younger, more active Guardian had assumed power and influence in my stead.When I called the Plesiosaur, it came to me, and permitted my Junctioning.However, it resisted my commands, and chose to fulfill the task I gave it in as circuitous a manner as possible._**

"You said that the Queen of Heaven had returned.Who is that?"Seifer's brow was furrowed in thought.

"Does that mean that Hyne has returned?" Zell chimed in.

**_The Queen of Heaven is your enemy, Fated Children.You know her by another name – Ultimecia._**

"What do you know of her plans?"Seifer fought to disguise the rising fear he felt._Squall was right…_

******

Bitter cold.Selphie was surrounded in darkness.The only concrete sensation she could define was the chilling numbness that flowed into her from all sides.She was being held immobile by some force that was as thorough as Dr. Odine was in the middle of an experiment.Her skin tried to crawl at that thought, but the grip she was in prevented even that sensation.

_If this is what the Guardians' realm is like – then I feel sorry for them.This is waaaaaay too boring for me._

Deprived of input from her senses beyond the darkness and chill, Selphie's mind roamed.Each moment of forced inactivity was a torment to the young woman.

******

Neptune shook his head sadly.**_I do not know why she is seeking to achieve her aim.She is attempting to reach back from the future to alter the flow of time._**

Zell interjected, "She tried to achieve something called 'time compression' when we stopped her a year ago."

The Guardian nodded.**_It is a rather overstated way to do it, but one could alter time's passage by achieving such a state.It would be similar to using a Guardian to kill a solitary Bite Bug, however._**

"But how is she going to do it?Ultimecia was only able to affect our time through a sorceress, and the only known sorceress is …"Seifer's voice trailed off in horror, as he realized some of the danger that Squall foresaw.

**_I believe she plans to seize control of the Wishing Angel._**

Zell asked, "But who is the Wishing Angel?"Incomprehension was clear to see on his face.

Seifer snapped at the younger man, "Chicken-wuss, Rinoa is the Wishing Angel."Gone from the blond instructor's voice was any trace of the camaraderie he had displayed earlier to the martial artist."Sometimes you are too stupid for words, Zell."

Zell was taken aback by Seifer's vehemence."Oh."

******

Was it her imagination, or was the chill she felt beginning to finally fade?Selphie was not sure how long she had been in this strange realm, but it seemed like it had been forever since she first summoned Neptune to talk to the guys.

The nothingness that surrounded her was driving Selphie up the wall.The brown-haired girl was used to having someone, anyone, to see what she was doing.This void, with nothing to do and minimal sensation except the crawling passage of time, was a supreme test of her scant supply of patience.The gregarious young woman was forced to look inside herself for entertainment and a means of passing the time.Step by step, she was losing a battle against the boredom she fought to hold back.

Desperately seeking a diversion, Selphie tried to move her limbs for the umpteenth time.For the umpteenth time, she met with absolute failure.She felt her anger grow, and she felt herself surrounded by the glowing energies of her Limit Break.Selphie would have smiled if she had been able to._Let's see what happens when I unleash the power of "The End" upon this prison…_

Selphie drew upon seldom-used reserves of power and unleashed it all into the void surrounding her._Nothing._She screamed in frustration, and was shocked to hear a faint sound.

She looked in her limited field of view for anything, and noticed that there had been a slight lessening of the gloom.At the same time, she realized that the chill was indeed less than it had been.Without thinking about it, she moved her hands slowly together and then rubbed them to create some warmth.Surprised, she stopped._I can move!_

She realized that the darkness was becoming less and less overpowering, with shades of color starting to bleed through its veil.The colors were short-lived ribbons of incandescent brilliance, burning their images on her retinas.The teenager discovered snippets of sounds around her, just on the verge of what she could hear.There were phrases of an indescribable music that made the best efforts of Esthar's grand orchestra seem infantile by comparison.

An aroma surrounded Selphie.It was strong and piquant, conveying a biting sense that reminded the young woman of the tartest lemon she had ever tasted.Underlying that aroma, she sensed faint odors of sulfur, brine, and sickly-sweet decay.The cloying combination was heady, and Selphie felt giddy from breathing it in.

The colors became more and more solid, as the area around Selphie swam into her vision.Hulking in front of her was a gigantic, horned form.The infernal form of the Guardian, Diablos.

******

Neptune looked away from Zell and Seifer.**_The Mistress of Doom is in danger. I must leave!_**

Neptune vanished.

******

In the realm of the Guardians, Diablos reached out with one clawed hand and touched Selphie's face softly.The demonic visage of the Guardian leered at the Trabian girl.**_So brave, to break the stasis set upon you.So foolish, to be wholly in our realm without someone to protect you._**

Diablos reached out with the power of the Earth's core, increasing the pull of gravity downwards upon her.Slowly, Selphie felt her limbs give way beneath the ever-increasing weight of her body.She fell to the ground at Diablos' feet, lying face-up.Her legs were pulled in two different directions, forcing them open…

Neptune appeared before Selphie could scream.He barked at Diablos, **_Remember who she is, and our pledge to her and her companions!_**He slapped the demonic Guardian with one meaty hand, and the demon fell backwards.

Selphie felt gravity return to normal around her.As she regained her freedom, she realized what was the likely intent of Diablos.She rolled into a ball, whimpering in fear and relief.

Selphie felt the world of the Guardians begin to fade from view, as Neptune glared at Diablos.As she left the realm of the Guardians, she heard Diablos speak.

**_Sooner or later, Mistress of Doom, you will be mine.I have marked you for all of eternity._**

**To be continued…**

** **


	7. Part 7: Delta Stage

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part Seven:Delta Stage**

Selphie shuddered in reaction to the pronouncement made by Diablos.She would never be able to rid herself of the memory of how he had held her helpless, within his power.Even when she had faced Omega Weapon alongside Squall and Irvine, she had held some measure of power over her surroundings.

The moment she had appeared back in the cabin Zell and Seifer shared, she bolted for the doorway, ignoring her companions' queries.She had fled to the adjoining room, where she had been quartered, her footfalls ringing softly on the metal floor of the assault craft.It was all she could do to prevent the rush of tears from taking place in front of her friend and her former enemy.She was damned if Seifer was going to see her break down.

Now, she felt somehow tainted, as if she had been dipped into a vat of impurest filth by being the object of a Guardian's lust.She wished the assault craft had a shower on-board.She wanted to turn the water on hot, at full blast, and let the stinging rain of water flay the taint from her skin.She wanted to scrub her flesh to the bone in an attempt to get rid of this feeling of uncleanness.

Selphie checked her Junctions, noting that she currently had Neptune, Shiva, Pandemona, and Bahamut joined to her mind.She sighed with relief as she remembered that Diablos was currently Junctioned to Squall, to bolster his damaged health.

Wanting to be alone, she concentrated and disengaged the enchantments that held her Guardians Junctioned.As she released each one, she let them know that she would reestablish her Junctions later, but that she needed some time without even their presence.

**_We understand, Mistress of Doom._**Bahamut's reply conveyed the wisdom of the Dragon Lord, mingled with a deep sadness and sympathy for the Trabian girl's plight.**_Remember that we are here to protect you, even from our own kind._**

Alone, she let her defenses down and cried for the first time since the destruction of Trabia Garden.She allowed herself to be the very frightened young woman that she was, instead of the happy-go-lucky party girl her friends always saw her as.

She lost herself in grief until the _Strife_ arrived in Dollet an hour later.When the ship arrived, a grim and determined young woman reJunctioned and went up on deck to join her companions.Forever lost was a small portion of her innocence.

******

The two SeeDs and the gunblade instructor walked from Dollet Port, into the city proper.Clad in their usual combat and travel garb, the three tried to ignore the stares they were given by the townsfolk of Dollet.They walked towards a car rental lot on the edge of town, passing through the City Center.

Zell looked out of town, towards the broadcast tower where he and Selphie had fought alongside Squall against Elvoret.He smiled at the memory, although he grimaced when he remembered that Seifer was supposed to have helped them, but instead struck out on his own.In the end, he had raced ahead of them, while they held off the Galbadian X-ATM092 robot.He hoped that Seifer wouldn't repeat such cowardice on this mission.

Seifer looked at one of the buildings in the center of town.The town Inn, the Errant Signal, was still in operation.Seifer grinned."Lets stop by the Errant Signal."

Zell groaned."We don't have time to stop at every Inn along the way, Seifer."

"Chicken-wuss, we may be able to get some information from the owner of the Inn.He is related to the Card Queen, and she might have let him know about some of her travels.For one thing, she might have told him about the rise of any new Sorceresses, or about things happening in Galbadia."Seifer's grin became a predatory smile."People in Dollet like to keep themselves informed about events in Galbadia.There is no way they will ignore the rise to power of another crackpot such as Vinzer Deling."

Selphie chimed in, "Zell, Seifer is right.Any information that we can get to help update the briefing material we were given in Balamb will be critical."Zell slowly nodded his assent.

"Let me do the talking."Seifer's look was condescending."He might be more willing to talk to me, instead of a SeeD."

"Yeah, right."

Seifer laughed."You always talk about your skill at playing Triple Triad, Zell.There should be at least a couple of games going on, so play while you are waiting."

They walked into the Errant Signal, disappearing into the smoke from within the Inn.

******

Zell looked at his hand again.He had one card left in his hand, and he was waiting for his opponent's last play.This was the fifth game he had played in since entering the Errant Signal.Each of the previous ones had been simple one-card-to-the-winner Open games that he took easily, picking up a trio of level 4 cards, along with an Oilboyle in the last game.However, in this game, he was playing against an opponent that looked to have all Level 5 and 6 cards show up in his randomized hand.There were additional rules also in play, with both Same and Plus being in use.This game was for all the cards in the opponent's hand.Zell had been stuck with four Level 1 cards and his most treasured card.

Zell's most treasured card was the holofoil-embossed card containing his likeness.Squall had given it to him after the end of the Second Sorceress War, claiming to have won it from Ma Dincht, of all people.It was one of the rare personal cards created for the game, gathered by Squall during his run to be the greatest Triple Triad player in the world.Leave it to Squall to turn a great game into a personal battlefield.

Since Squall's run, Triple Triad players had become more and more serious about the game, and the self-styled Card Queen had begun organizing leagues for organized play in Dollet, Balamb, Deling, and FH.The leagues offered gil prizes for events, along with special members-only versions of the cards.Zell had debated about joining for some time now, but had not joined the Balamb league yet, because he could not guarantee attendance at events.Too often, he was out on missions.

Turning his mind back to the game, Zell watched as his opponent chose one of his two cards, a Granaldo, and placed it in the center of the 3-by-3 game grid.The Granaldo was higher value than each of Zell's cards - to the right, left, and above - and all three were flipped over to indicate that they now were controlled by the red player.Zell had his card in his hand, and the only open space left was the one beneath the Granaldo.

Zell placed his card below the Granaldo, between the Behemoth and Abadon cards his opponent had played on the bottom row.He looked at the other player, who was smiling broadly."It looks like you lose everything, SeeD," he shouted.

Zell laughed."Not quite."He pointed to the Behemoth and the Granaldo."My card matches the Granaldo's lower eight and the Behemoth's six.The same with the Granaldo and Abadon," pointing at the other combination.He flipped the three cards over."By the rules that govern Same-class captures, I also capture all cards, as if the cards I just picked up were just played."

Zell pointed at the Fastitocalon-F above the Abadon."The Granaldo and Abadon capture this card by the Plus rule."He flipped the Fastitocalon-F over.He then proceeded to flip over the Red Bat, Oilboyle and Geezard cards."These cards I capture normally."

Zell looks at the audience that had gathered and smiled."As a favorite radio personality would say – 'that's the rest of the story.'"He looked at his crestfallen opponent."You made a good try, man, but that is game over."

Wordlessly, the young man handed over his last card.It was a members-only, holofoil edition of Gilgamesh.

Zell whistled as he looked at the artwork on the card, depicting the capricious sword-wielding Guardian in mid-swing with the Zantetsuken.He held it out towards his opponent."I can't take this, man."

"Why not?"Beaming, Seifer strode up to younger SeeD."It might just come in handy."Seifer clapped Zell on the shoulder."I've got to hand it to you, Zell.When you come through, you come through big!"He ushered Zell out the Inn's door, towards Selphie, who was already outside, an expression of distaste written across her face.

As they exited the Errant Signal, Zell asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I made a side bet on your game with the proprietor of the Signal.I won a car and enough fuel to get us to Galbadia in record time!"

**To be continued …**


	8. Part 8: Interlude

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part Eight: Interlude**

Ultimecia was terrified.

Her rise to power had been foreseen by Hyne herself.Her crusade against the SeeDs was foretold within the pages of the Prophecies.At the verge of her ultimate triumph, the Prophecies foretold, she would be defeated by the very warriors who founded the Way of the Lady.

Every step she had taken was delineated within the Prophecies' pages, although not detailed in plain speech.One passage confused her, however, and she could not see the relevance to her crusade.

_Queen of Heaven bridges time's abyss,_

_Fallen Guardians at her side –_

_Sins of the father_

_Son brings retribution –_

_Way's defenders redeem the Betrayer._

_ _

_Knight of the Cross,_

_With Fated Fist and Doom's Mistress,_

_Fights for the Angel –_

_For the Lionheart –_

_For the destiny of all._

_ _

_Lifedeath beckons all,_

_Should cycle be broken._

_What was must be –_

_What will must be –_

_What is, contradicts._

_ _

_Reunion must take place –_

_The sundered, return._

_Hopeless must find hope,_

_Lost must be found –_

_Mother sees child before conception._

_ _

_Destiny's coils tighten –_

_The Queen's vengeance is sterile –_

_The Fated yet exist –_

_Doom's word is yet silent._

_The bridge is not stable._

What did that mean?Did it mean that her journey through time was doomed to failure?Was there no way for her to avoid the confrontation depicted on the Prophecies' cover?Did any of her actions make a difference, one way or another?

With an inarticulate screech of rage, she threw the Prophecies to the ground.The ancient Hexadragon hide that bound the pages of the tome together, crackled when it hit the flagstones of Ultimecia's castle.It skidded along the floor, keeping the prophetic pages bound within.

Enraged, Ultimecia called upon a Flare spell.The explosion of incandescent rage was enough to vaporize the tome as it lay on the floor.

"Your Majesty?"

Ultimecia turned.Standing in the entryway to the Hall she had ordered the Ellone Device placed in, was a slender, auburn-haired man.His hair color, and the ponytail he wore his shoulder-blade-length hair in, marked him as one of the Ilmit.It was Dougal, the Ilmit crafter who was fashioning leads for the Ellone Device's synaptic electrodes.

In the slender crafter's hands lay a delicate latticework of plas and circuitry.In fact, two identical sets of the same latticework, which seemed likely to serve the same function as the heavy electrodes she had wore during her first assay with the Ellone Device.

"Why are they smaller, and less solid, Dougal?"

"The leads are smaller, to offer less resistance to impulses traveling from the wearer to the Device.With less resistance, there is less waste heat being produced by friction – the electro-neural energy passes more smoothly."The Ilmit looked worried."Your Majesty, we have not yet been able to test this."

"No matter, Ilmit."She smiled cruelly."Assist me in attaching these leads."

As the Ilmit nervously stepped to her side, and began placing the circuitry lattice upon her body, Ultimecia allowed herself to look him over._Perhaps a reward was in order for his loyal service..._She felt a hunger rise that she once felt towards her beloved Prince Nerid, but now associated only with the satiation of infrequent lust.

She sighed._Now was not the time._

As the Ilmit continued his task, she send her mind questing down the mental pathways that led to the Guardians she had Junctioned.

**_What is your bidding, Queen of Heaven?_**As always, Hades' reply was tinged with a note of interest in Ultimecia's thoughts and plans.

_We go to change the past._From her experience with Hades, Ultimecia knew that there was some terrible deed that Hades wished undone in the past.He fixated upon that past event so much for it to be considered by the other Guardians an obsession.So long as Hades could pursue his desired goal, Ultimecia knew she had his support.

**_Indeed.And which of us will you need with you, to enforce your will?_**

_I want all of you, except Griever, which I release to be Junctioned to Omega.While I am elsewhere, I want Omega to begin the assault upon the least of the rebellious Galbad strongholds – Winil.When we have returned, it will be to celebrate the ultimate defeat of our hated enemies and the restoration of my beloved._

**_It shall be done, dread Majesty._**

Ultimecia felt a rush of energy away from her, as the most puissant of the Guardians uncoupled his spirit from her mind.A glowing felinoid specter, Griever paused and then sped out the door of the Hall, heading outside the Tower of Heaven.It did not stop in its headlong, glowing flight, until it had reached the monstrous incarnation of the planet's fury.Griever's essence merged with Omega, and the monstrous beast's eyes sprang open.

Within the Hall of the Ellone Device, Ultimecia looked at the handsome Ilmit again.He had just completed placing the latticework over her skin, attaching it to her skin with miniature electrodes.Her skin tingled from the man's touch, and she smiled.When she had returned, perhaps she would reward him for doing well.

The Ilmit bowed deeply to Ultimecia."Majesty, if it would please you to sit in the chair built into the Device, I will attach the neural lattice."

Ultimecia rose gracefully, and walked slowly to the Ellone Device.She stood over the Ilmit, who was still in the appropriate posture of respect."You have pleased me well, Dougal.I would have you attend me upon your return."

The crafter went pale at her request, and then flushed."You d-d-do me far too great an honor, your Majesty."

"Perhaps.But good service should be rewarded."Ultimecia smiled, showing her gleaming white teeth."And you have served me well, crafter."

She sat down in the chair.It slid backwards, and part of the back shifted, conforming itself to the Queen of Heaven's contours for the greatest comfort.As the chair shifted, the Queen allowed herself a smile._His service will permit me to save you, Nerid.We will reign side-by-side, as we were meant to._

"Relax, your Majesty."Dougal's voice intruded into Ultimecia's thoughts."The less tense you are, the better the neuralware will work."

Dougal activated the Ellone Device, and Ultimecia's mind was cast backwards, through the walls of time.As the years unraveled, she became each sorceress, in regression, for a moment, before time's reversed flow tugged her further on.

She was Arista, in agony.Screaming as she labored to bring her son, Nerid, into the world.Her body tensed as she underwent a contraction, lower muscles rippling in an intense effort to bring a child into the world who would one day love her murderer.

She ripped away from Arista, and into the life of an aged woman from Trab, Diana, as she accepted the power of the Sorceress.Diana was selected by her long-lived predecessor, Kimiko, to be Queen of Heaven until Arista was old enough to rule in Kimiko's stead.

She was Kimiko, ordering the SeeD to find and destroy her husband, who had chosen to dally with an Alsy girl, betraying their wedding vows.

She was Via, and Forca, and Ovelia, and a hundred other sorceresses as she raced backwards through time.Each generation gave her a moment of insight into their lives, although most would remain little more than names on a faded parchment list of Sorceresses.

Finally, she rushed into the mind of the one she sought.

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Part 9: REM Stage

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part Nine: REM Stage**

_She stood in front of her throne.Facing her were three of her former friends.She could not understand why they betrayed her and her knight.They had suddenly attacked her.Her knight's gunblade lay on the floor, shattered by the cunning and skill of her former lover._

_ _

_She felt the sting of a blow as the brown-haired girl attacked her.Selphie's nunchaku telescoped, whipping out well in front of the Trabian girl's body.The sorceress snarled in reply, and reached out with one hand, calling upon the might of one of her Guardians._

_ _

_All of the air in the throne hall was sucked away, as an huge entity appeared.Beneath the feet of the treacherous foes, the planet appeared, diminishing rapidly, as they were seized by the forces the hold the stars in place.They flew outwards, until they were outside of the solar system.There, they headed towards a region of space that held only darkness._

_ _

_As the three traitors neared the darkenss, they felt the pull of gravity increase, and they were sucked into the maw of the being that lay within the darkness – insane Atomos.As the maw closed, they felt the energies he commanded press down on them from all directions momentarily, and then found themselves released to the Sorceress' throne hall._

_ _

_The Sorceress smiled briefly as she watched Atomos do his work.The smile was quickly replaced a scream of surprise and pain as the traitorous master of the gunblade used his least Limit Break, the Fire Cross.She turned to Seifer Almasy and spat."You had your chance for glory and turned aside.Now, you will pay for your lack of vision!"_

_ _

_Before the Sorceress could call upon her magic, she felt the grasp of a Guardian upon her.She had forgotten Zell!The martial artist had turned away from his usual punching attacks to call upon the power of the synthetic Guardian.She felt it drag her, unwilling, above its hulking form._

_ _

_Eden's topside flared into incandescence, and the Sorceress was rocketed out of the solar system, streaking through the stars towards a giant orange star.She struck the star, creating a massive disturbance in the star's photosphere.As she hurtled towards the star's core, she felt the fabric of the star tearing behind her, as it became less and less stable.Just as she reached the star's core, it exploded._

_ _

_The Sorceress' form collapsed before her throne.As consciousness began to fade, she saw her ever-faithful companion and friend run forward and scratch frantically at the ground beside her.A fluff of orange-yellow down was revealed, and the massive dog quickly gave it to its mistress.The Sorceress rose, exultant._

_ _

_She called for her pet, and gave him a command.She hurled a treat upwards into the air, and Angelo caught it.The faithful beast gathered its muscles beneath itself and leapt high into the air.The full moon shone behind the faithful dog, and Angelo called upon its power as he howled.The moon's power suffused the Sorceress, and she felt invincible._

_ _

_Her enemies rained blows upon her – all ineffectual."Now, you shall pay for your insolence and treachery!"_

_ _

_The Sorceress called upon Hell's Judgment, and her enemies were blasted backwards, grievously injured.While Zell called upon Cerberus to allow the three to use a loophole in Hyne's laws governing Magic, Selphie sought desperately for the right slot to enable her companions to recover.The massive triple-headed Guardian appeared and twisted the rules of reality, allowing the three traitors the ability to cast more than one spell at a time._

_ _

_Little did it avail them, as the Sorceress called upon the arcane might of the Apocalypse before Selphie could find the magic that would have cured them all._

Rinoa Heartily screamed herself awake.She lay in her bedroom in Deling City, in the bed that she had not slept in since that fateful day more than a year before, when she argued with her father about the right way to oppose the madness of Vinzer Deling.

Her nightgown was soaked with sweat, as were the sheets of the bed.The gown stuck to her skin's contours, revealing far more of Rinoa's pale skin than she would have ever done in public.Her hair was disarrayed from her thrashings while in the hold of the nightmare that had awakened her.

_Thank Hyne!It was only a nightmare…_

Rinoa sat up in the bed.The sheets slowly slid down her form, revealing more of her pale skin to the moonlight that shone in through the window to the east.Angelo looked up from his post at the foot of the bed at his mistress.Rinoa smiled at her four-footed companion, and the dog, relieved, replaced its head on its paws.It slowly went back to dreams of gigantic fields with bunny rabbits to chase after all day.

_It must be the talks for Timber's emancipation that are causing these nightmares._The talks were long and tedious.As the leader of the Forest Owls, Rinoa was in attendance, with Quistis, Irvine and Xu as her bodyguard. Representatives of the Forest Foxes and the Forest Cats were present, along with the current Galbadian triumvirate that had seized power after the defeat during the Second Sorceress War.Her father was one of those triamvirs.

The talks had stalled, as the factions of the Timber Resistance were unable to agree upon their demands.The Forest Foxes demanded not only independence but also reparations and the release of all resistance members.The Forest Cats were willing to accept independence, as long as all resistance members were freed.The Forest Owls were demanding fair trials for all resistance members currently imprisoned, for some deserved to be punished, having stooped to lows that were below the methods of even the Sorceress Ultimecia and Vinzer Deling.

Meanwhile, the triamvirs of Galbadia were being obstinate, refusing to budge on the issues that the resistance leaders were trying to address.They seemed to be united in the position that they were granting Timber's independence, and that should be enough.Earlier today, she had gotten into a fight with her father over the unwillingness of the Galbadian Government to make any recompense for the more than fifteen years they had controlled Timber.

When she had been fighting with him, she had wanted to call upon one of the Apocalypse spells she had Drawn from Ultimecia during the final battle in Time Compression, and try to blast some reason into his thick, reactionary skull.And her father was the reasonable one of the three triamvirs…

She walked slowly to the window that looked towards the country beyond the city.Looking eastwards, she let her mind reach out over the miles towards the man she loved._Squall, I miss you._

She wondered what her knight would be doing now.It would be morning in Balamb, and doubtless Squall would have already finished his morning workout and breakfast.Squall was probably sifting through all of the administrative details that had consumed his time since the end of the War.

Cid had never let Squall step down from his position as the commander of Balamb Garden's SeeDs, which enabled Cid to spend more time focusing on teaching people – his first love.However, it meant that her beloved had little free time, and no time for most field missions.That was why she found herself being escorted by the Instructor/SeeD who used to pine for her beloved, Squall's aide-de-camp, Xu, and the sensitive sharpshooter, Irvine Kinneas.

She sighed._It would have given so much more weight to our cause if Squall had been able to be here, showing that Balamb Garden unequivocally stood behind the cause of Timber's independence.As it was, the Galbadians chose to interpret it that we have hired an escort from Garden, to avoid assassination attempts._

Not only did the leader of the Forest Owls miss Squall's presence for the political advantage it would have given her.It had been a year since the celebration of Ultimecia's defeat.After that party, she felt certain that Squall would propose to her.But circumstances had dictated that they spend most of their time apart.She thirsted for his presence much the same way a man who had spent three weeks in the Kashbakald Desert thirsted for water.

Reaching out with her magic, she grasped hold of the thin clouds of vapor in the sky above.She quickly worked the vapor into a tenuous resemblance of her knight, using two stars in the sky above as his eyes.

About halfway through crafting his likeness, she felt the clouds shudder, and the image she was crafting changed.The set of the eyes was the same, the hair was similar, but was lighter and longer.The features were more feminine, and lines marked the face in the sky above.Lines of cruelty.

Rinoa gasped as she realized that the face she had drawn in the sky was the face of the Sorceress Ultimecia, who had died beneath Squall's Lionheart.

The vapor drew closer, and the likeness gained solidity, until Rinoa could see the Sorceress standing before her.The Sorceress' form vanished, and Rinoa felt a sensation akin to every cell of her body being dipped in acid.She screamed in terror and collapsed.

Angelo awakened from his dreams in time to see his mistress fall.He ran to her side, sniffing the ground as he went.There were no items nearby for him to use to help her.He whimpered and licked her cheek.There was no response.The devoted dog whined, and nosed her with its muzzle.Still nothing.He licked her face again.

Rinoa's eyes opened wide.Blazing within them, however, was the burning red fire of someone other than Angelo's mistress.

The Sorceress smiled as she stood._This Sorceress should serve me quite well._

The Sorceress turned, hearing the sound of a door slamming open.It would not do for her to be discovered before she were ready.She turned to the bed-side, full-length mirror and walked towards it.As she reached it, it shimmered.The Sorceress stepped through the mirror, going bridging space to reach the Tower of Heaven, in this era.

Angelo whined in fear as his mistress departed into the mirror.Unwilling, but seeing no other choice, the dog followed after his mistress.

When Rinoa's SeeD escorts reached her bedroom, both girl and dog had vanished.

**To Be Continued…**

  



	10. Part 10: REM Stage Continued

Nightmares

**Nightmares**

by TacomaSquall

**Part Ten: REM Stage Continued**

In the Tower of Heaven, Ultimecia realized that the sorceress she had chosen as her host in this time period had a Knight.She smiled coldly, as she reached across the link between the woman and her protector.

******

_He stood in Ultimecia's throne room.Squall had led the other SeeDs there, fighting their way through the twisted and horrendous minions of the time-lost Sorceress.They had been guided around her lieutenants by Seifer and his posse.Now, they stared at Ultimecia's throne._

_ _

_It stood, vacant, rising above the rest of the throne hall.There was no sign of her presence in the room.It was covered in dust as if it had not been used for millennia._

_ _

_Squall looked, in confusion, around the rest of the room.The remainder of the throne hall also was covered in the dust of centuries.No one had entered this hall before them._

_ _

_That was when he felt his body cocooned in the energies of the most powerful of Quistis' Blue Magic abilities, the Shockwave Pulsar.He and Rinoa hurtled skyward, dragged in front of the shockwave that resulted when a dwarf star collapsed downwards, into a star that emitted bursts of light and radiation, seemingly at random.The coruscating waves of energy washed over the Knight and the sorceress he had sworn to protect, out of love, and they screamed in unison._

_ _

_As they returned to the throne hall, Squall could see his friends, standing united against him._

_ _

_While Rinoa and Squall stood, stunned, Zell called upon the might of Cerberus and Selphie called upon Carbuncle.The two Guardians' power suffused the SeeDs, and Irvine lowered the Exeter, having loaded its chambers to the full with Fast Ammo._

_ _

_He drawled, "I'm sorry to do this, Squall," just before he opened fire._

Squall woke up in a dark room, his heart pounding in terror.He felt like he had been cocooned in Caterchipillar silk that still clung to his limbs.His head pounded from the remembered terror of his dream and his disorientation._How did I get here?I was in the infirmary when I went to sleep._

His side gave a twinge of pain, from where he had been laid open by the Granaldo's assault.He couldn't feel anything from his gunblade arm at all, which worried Squall even more than the agony that he assumed he should feel after having felt the flying monster's mandibles rip the flesh to the bone there.He hoped that there had not been nerve damage.

A single thought cut clearly across his rapid self-diagnosis._Rinoa needs me!Ultimecia is making another attempt to reach across time, and her target this time is the woman I love._

He rose unsteadily from the bed, pulling the against the threads that held him down.They gave slightly, allowing hgim to sit upright, while they were taut against his skin.One by one, he disengaged the threads from his skin, each thread ending in some sort of pad that adhered to his skin.In response to his actions, a klaxon began to ring.

As Squall detached the final thread, a form rushed into the room.Upon seeing Squall, it ordered, "Stay in that bed, Commander Leonhart."

Squall looked at the out-of-focus being, registering only that a white human-shaped form was ordering him to not go to Rinoa's aid.He shook his head to try and clear his vision.

It rushed forward and grabbed Squall's arm.By reflex, Squall pulled his arm away.He looked again at the blurry form of the being that was trying to get him to lie down.

Before his astonished eyes, the being's form became clearer, resolving into the angular, desiccated form of a Blitz.It hissed at him, "Lie back down and wait for help."

In shock, Squall shoved the Blitz away from him.Off-balance, it stuck the wall and fell to the ground, stunned.Before it could rise back to its feet, Squall wobbled and darted away as quickly as he could.

Squall fled the room on unsteady legs.As he headed along the passageway from the room, he noted that he was within Balamb Garden.He had just been in the infirmary.He raced down the hallway toward the central hub of the Garden, pulling up short when he saw the massive form of a Wendigo pass in front of the terminus of the infirmary passage. Using as much stealth as he could muster while still moving fast, he kept himself hidden from the monsters that had taken over Balamb Garden while making his way to his quarters.He hoped to arm himself and see what he could do to find out how this monstrous takeover of Balamb Garden was accomplished, and how it related to the danger posed to Rinoa.

******

Nida was not happy with current developments.He had been summoned to the infirmary, where he listened to the duty nurse, Marianne, explain how Squall escaped.Doctor Kadowaki was also present, and the head of the Garden Infirmary was seething.

"How did a man who was at Death's Door just three days ago manage to manhandle you, nurse?"Doctor Kadowaki's anger was barely being held in check by her incredulity.

The dark-haired nurse gulped."He shoved me away, and I slipped.I hit my head against the wall and was stunned."

Nida sighed.It was time to get past this."What was his condition when he shoved you, Nurse Laggan?"

She turned to him."Commander Leonhart's skin was hot to the touch.I would guess he had a fever of at least 102.My guess is that he is in delirium induced by the Granaldo's venom or by infection."

Nida nodded.He looked over to the Doctor."I remember a training exercise before my graduation.The class that Commander Leonhart, Instructor Almasy, SeeD Dincht and I were in were assigned a survival course.We were dumped onto a barren island about 50 miles south of Balamb.We were given enough supplies to last us three days, and instructed to get by for a fortnight.

"Arika was stung by a small scorpion during the third day of the exercise.Niska was with her, and she was able to quickly draw out the venom before it could spread, by opening the wound further and sucking the venom out.We took care of the resulting injury as best as we could, and continued the exercise.

"It turned out our best wasn't quite sufficient, as something got into Arika's wound.The wounded arm grew infected rapidly, swelling to almost half again its size.We tried to tend the infection as best as we could, but we had to improvise first-aid equipment, having none included in our supplies.Mainly, we tried to help make Arika as comfortable as we could, draining the infected area, and keeping it as clean as possible.

"On the sixth night of the exercise, Arika awakened the entire camp, screaming that we were under attack by Grats and a T-Rexaur.When we looked, we saw that a sole Bite Bug had chased a pack of rats into the camp.In her delirium, Arika attacked the rats, killing her 'Grats' quickly and efficiently, before they could harm us.Before she could turn her attention to the Bite Bug, it stung her and fled.It took Squall, Seifer and Niska combined to restrain her afterwards, as she tried to rush off into interior of the island in pursuit.

"She lapsed into unconsciousness that night, and the next day, we were evacuated by Instructor Trepe.At her insistence, Arika flunked the survival exam, although the rest of us were given passing grades.Niska willingly volunteered to accompany her twin on the mandatory second attempt to pass the exam, later that quarter."

Nida smiled at Nurse Laggan."It sounds to me that Squall _was_ delirious when he met you.It is no surprise to me that he would mistake you for a Blitz, with your slender build, and your white uniform."

Doctor Kadowaki nodded."Someone suffering from delirium often possesses greater strength than usual, being pumped up by high levels of adrenaline."

Nida looked soberly at Doctor Kadowaki.His reply was so soft it could barely be heard."Which means we need to find Squall before he gets injured, or hurts someone else."Fear crept into his voice."The only problem is that we have no idea where to look…"

******

The Sorceress smiled coldly.She had gleaned much from the mind of her host, Rinoa.There were two mobile bases for the hated SeeDs in this time.They corresponded to provinces in her own time frame.The two strongholds of SeeD would have to wait, however.Her host's knight was coming to her, chasing fever-induced phantoms that she had crafted into a sending.Soon he would be by her side.

Once the Lionheart served her, she would be able to strike against her enemies with the prophesied instrument of their victory.He would allow her access to the inner councils of the SeeDs, where she could strike decisively against them – beheading her enemy in a single powerful blow.

One thought troubled the Queen of Heaven, however.During her link with the Lionheart, she had sensed that he had somehow guessed that she would seize her host.He had dispatched two SeeDs, the Betrayer by their side, to go to Deling City to protect the young sorceress.

It would not do for them to reach her host's home unhindered.She gave a mental command.

**_Dread Queen, what is thy will?_**The rumbling tones of Golem's "voice" reverberated throughout her body.

"Three of my enemies are coming to Galbadia.Take Kjata.Find them and destroy them before they reach my host's home."

**_It shall be done, Dread Ultimys._**

Ultimecia felt the draining of energy that always occurred when a Guardian was disengaged, and saw, from the corner of her eyes, two spectral forms turn and leave the Tower of Heaven.She smiled coldly as watched them vanish.

Soon, her revenge would begin, and the fate foretold in Hyne's last prophecies would be averted.Soon, she would be reunited with her beloved Nerid.

Her laughter echoed through the dust-covered halls of the Tower of Heaven.It sped like a scirocco, carrying dust in its wake.Her mirth filled the rooms and chambers of the place that was once the seat of power for Hyne herself, abandoned upon her choice to give up her power to the sorceresses.

If she had her way, Ultimecia would surpass the power of even Great Hyne.

******

Unmarked by the mad Sorceress, Angelo cowered even further in the shadows beneath Hyne's throne.

Angelo did not understand what was wrong with his mistress, but something was definitely not right.Her usual smell had been replaced by a cold smell, reminiscent of death and a bitter cold, greater than that ever experienced by the faithful hound – more bitter even than the chill of Shiva's unfettered might.

The faithful dog crouched low to the ground and prayed._May one of my Mistress' pack come and make her feel better._

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
